Bridging the Gap with the Business Side of the Institution

Jim La Creta, Chief Information Officer, Brandeis University

Jim La Creta, Chief Information Officer, Brandeis University

Educational Leadership. Those two words are fitting partners as a leader is never done learning. This holds true, even more so, for Information Technology leaders in an academic environment. Change is the special of the day and it appears that it’s so popular that it should be moved to a permanent entrée.

There is a saying that overhead projectors were in bowling alleys decades before they made their way into classrooms. Innovation and higher education were not synonymous at most institutions 20 years ago. Fast-forward several years and the need for cloud-based technology, cyber security, and data analytics are insatiable. Leaders struggled mightily with fulfilling those needs as they built cost centers to support the campus. IT leaders were not part of the business conversations and suddenly they needed to have thoughts on the topic. There was a rush of senior leaders going back to school, getting coaching, and learning on the job these missing skillsets.

"Leaders need to take a similar approach to other initiatives without the public health risk. They must look ahead at all times for opportunities to make life better via technology without it getting in the way"

What has noticeably happened over the past few years is that the changing role of a Chief Information Officer has turned into a constant evolving process. And why shouldn’t it be? A technology department in higher education’s role is to understand the needs of the institution and support them. Ten years ago, it was the other way around. IT drove the business (even though it did not want to). Leaders must be aware that this is a recipe for disaster. I can’t think of anything worse than technology professionals telling the business what they should do. There is a middle ground. It should be a trusted collaboration between the two.

A leader must be able to bridge this gap with the business side of the institution. Skillsets required to do so are far less technical and more finance and communication focused. Change happens so quickly that soft skills are needed to anticipate and navigate very difficult conversations. They are also needed to, dare I say, market what your department can do for the community. What good is a shiny new system if nobody knows about it? One thing is for certain, the role is not going anywhere. More now than ever, institutions need someone at the helm who is agile and forward thinking. Many institutions utilize the changing technological environments as a catalyst for campus-wide changes.

Look at how we all reacted and continue to react to COVID. Granted, change was a requirement and certainly happened at a quickened pace, but my understanding is that we mostly made it through. We adjusted because we had to. Leaders need to take a similar approach to other initiatives without the public health risk. They must look ahead at all times for opportunities to make life better via technology without it getting in the way. Nothing is worse than implementing technology for the sake of doing it.

Educational leadership is a journey that must be welcomed and embraced. Listening, networking, learning, changing, and marketing are key components on this journey. Leaders must not shy away from difficult conversations and make every effort to understand the roadblocks students, faculty, and staff face on a daily basis. We must understand the issue before we can fix it. Too often we get this backwards and that’s how we get into trouble. It is very easy for us to forget that we need to understand the academic side of a university’s needs and focus on finances and operations. So much has improved and so much is still antiquated and has to be changed. Our communities need help understanding their pain points and partnering to fix them goes a long way. To boil it all down, leadership in education may be changing, but one thing is constant, we are here to help make daily operations easier and more efficient. As long as we remain anchored to that notion, we can learn the rest.

Information Technology

Agile

Marketing